Chapter Five: A Jaunt in the Woods
Jeremy narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. “Sophia,” he said at last. “I’ll call you Sophia.”
The AI cocked an eyebrow at him, then her eyes seemed to lose focus for a moment and suddenly snap back, “Ah. Latin for ‘wisdom.’ How droll. Very well, Sophia will be my designation.”
“Sophia?!” Pinkie said aghast, “What kind of weirdo name is that?! It sounds like ‘sofa’!”
Rarity shot her a murderous look and gave a placating smile to Jeremy and Sophia, “I think it’s lovely darling! Even if it is a trifle… exotic.”
“Your decision to approve or disapprove of the name Jeremy has given me is immaterial, though I am glad you think it lovely, Rarity.” Sophia tossed her head casually. “It is merely a designation. Quite frankly, names are a social construct that has confused me since my inception. With such unique and defined personalities, I see no reason for additional designations. You are all discrete and quite easily identifiable without the conceit of something so prosaic as a name.”
Twilight’s eye twitched and she felt she simply had to interject, “A name is important!” All eyes turned to her and she felt her face heat with a blush, “No, really! It’s more than what people call you, it’s a part of you. It’s intrinsically tied to your identity and magically important. You can’t tell me that they’re just social constructs.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not.” Sophia shrugged. “I understand that they mean much to you. I simply do not understand why. It is but one of the many things about organic life which I imagine will mystify me until I am upgraded to a higher-class template. I am sure it is a failing of my own.” She smiled sweetly.
Twilight didn’t reply, but she felt that in some small way the AI was mocking her. It put her teeth on edge. “Well Jeremy,” she said instead, “What do you plan to do now? Have you thought about where you’ll live? I mean, you could be here for a very long time. Maybe even forever.”
Jeremy was quiet for a while, thinking through the various responses he could give. Finally, he nodded and said, “Yes. I’ve given that some thought. I’ve been living in the Everfree Forest for a… while now. It hasn’t been very comfortable--too many things want to eat me for any kind of comfort. I was hoping once I’d made contact with people--ponies I guess--like you, I’d be able to kind of set myself up and find work. I know you use money, so I’m guessing you have some kind of system in place for employment?”
Rainbow Dash shot him a quizzical look and answered, “Yeah, ponies work for bits. Don’t they do that everywhere?”
“I honestly have no idea. I was hoping you guys had something like that here. Or some kind of barter system. I really don’t want to freeload.”
“Well,” Applejack said slowly, “we could always use an extra hoof at the farm… Only I can’t pay ya much. And the work ain’t easy. Y’all could come stay with me an’ mine and take meals with us too, leastways, until you saved up enough to get yer own place.”
Jeremy was taken aback, “Wow Applejack,” he said, “that’s...that’s really amazing of you. I’d be glad to work for you. Though I gotta admit, I’m not all that familiar with farm work or...agriculture. Blame my city upbringing.”
“Shoot,” said Applejack dismissively, “it’s hard work, but it don’t take a genius to get it done right. Just dedication and a good work ethic. We’ll start y’all out with me in the West Orchard at sunrise, then you can help Apple Bloom out with care an’ feedin’ of the chickens and pigs. The you’ll go with Big Mac to bring the sheep out to pasture. Then we can have a quick bite o’ lunch and it’ll be off to the garden for weedin’ an’ to take care of the bugs. If you show up tonight ‘fore sunset, you’ll get a nice big dinner too.”
With each item added to the list, Jeremy’s eyes got marginally wider until by the end, his eyes looked like saucers and he had a mildly concussed look. When Applejack finally looked at his expression, she chuckled, “Don’t you worry none, sugar cube! It’s tough, sure, but it’ll be good for ya!”
Jeremy sighed and smiled at the orange farmpony, “Yeah, of course. Thanks again Applejack.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash said smugly, “AJ’s a big ol’ softy. She’ll only work you ‘til you wish you were dead, not ‘til you’re actually dead.”
Applejack chucked Rainbow Dash on the shoulder and smirked, “Someponies ain’t half so lazy as you, Dash. If y’cain’t handle it, y’all can stop nappin’ in my apple trees anytime y’all want.”
Rainbow stuck her tongue out at Applejack. Rarity interjected smoothly before Applejack and Rainbow could get started in one of their long and continuing competitive arguments, “That sounds perfect! Though I do worry that your presence in Ponyville will cause considerable comment, especially when your rather...unusual appearance is taken into account. Perhaps you should introduce yourself to the townsponies so that you can head off any uncomfortable situations?”
Twilight was nodding along, “Excellent idea, Rarity! We can introduce you to the town and get all the questions the ponies will have out of the way.” Even Fluttershy was nodding along, a small yet noticeable smile on her demure features.
“If you think that’s best…” Jeremy said slowly. “But before any of that, I need to go back to the Everfree Forest to get my things.”
“Um… what things?” Fluttershy asked, “I mean, they’re your possessions, but the Everfree can be rather dangerous for, well, anyone. Anyone except for me, I mean.”
Sophia said, “Jeremy left the Traveler’s Kit back at his camp in the Everfree. He will need it if he wishes to continue with his self-imposed mission here. Plus, it may not be best to have advanced technology simply out in the open and unguarded. A pony who is not prepared for the revelations that finding such artifacts would surely incite could stumble upon them and form some very… interesting theories.”
Twilight stared at Sophia for a long moment before she asked with more than a little trepidation, “What, exactly, is in the Traveler’s Kit?”
“The Traveler’s Kit contains a number of useful items for the out-and-about immortal,” Sophia said calmly, “including a number of devices for… well, somewhat energetic self-defense. There are also a number of tools which appear to violate well-understood laws of physics. The exact contents of a Traveler’s Kit are only cleared for members of the Traveler’s Society to know, but suffice to say that there is more than enough to cause a massive paradigm shift in Equestrian history should one of the artifacts go missing.”
“Which is why,” Jeremy said flatly, “I need to go back to the Everfree Forest to get my stuff. And sooner is better than later.”
Twilight had become more and more agitated as Sophia’s calm voice enumerated what, to her mind, was a laundry list of possible apocalypse scenarios and by the time Jeremy had spoken, her pupils had shrunk to pinpoints and one eye was twitching involuntarily. She smiled with too many teeth and spoke in a rather strained voice, “Well then! Let’s go get Jeremy’s things!”
Rainbow Dash flew in a tight barrel roll grinning. She tossed her colorful mane and snorted, “C’mon then! I’ve been bored for like, five whole minutes now. Let’s get this show on the road!”
“Ooh!” Said Pinkie, “We can pack a picnic basket and make a day of it.”
“In the Everfree Forest.” Rarity did not look particularly enthusiastic, “Forgive me everyone, but, while that sounds perfectly… ah, entertaining to be sure, I will unfortunately be unable to accompany you. I simply must get back to the shop. I left a rather large order unfilled when I got Twilight’s message this morning and that is unacceptable!” She smiled a little weakly and made an effort at primping her already perfect mane.
Applejack grimaced and said, “I hate t’say it, but I’m afraid I’m with Rarity. Farm work ain’t gonna get itself done. And--” she shot a venomous glare at Rainbow Dash, “if you think for one second this has anything to do with me bein’ afraid of the Everfree… Well, just remember it was the Apple family who made this town what it is today by bravin’ the Everfree for zap apple seeds!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes and smirked but didn’t actually voice her contempt. “Look,” said Jeremy, “no offense, but really, this doesn’t need to be a full-on expedition. I hadn’t really intended on anyone else coming with me. I’ll just pop into my camp, break it down, and come back! Simple as that. And since I’m the immortal here, the dangers of the Everfree are just more like inconveniences instead of, y’know, deadly.”
“Still,” Twilight said absently, “I’m coming with you. I want to make absolutely sure nopony has been around. The Everfree isn’t exactly a walk in the woods--or rather it is but not in the idiomatic sense--but someponies do still venture into it from time to time. I’ll be able to sense them with my detection spells.”
“Fine. Twilight and Rainbow Dash.” Jeremy crossed his arms. “But that’s it. I have a feeling that the more people--ponies...whatever--the more that go into the woods the more things that want to eat pretty pastel ponies will be hunting. And, at the risk of beating a dead hor--um, repeating myself--I really do not want to experience getting torn limb from limb and devoured. In fact, that’s pretty far down on my list of things to do. Right behind getting burned alive.”
“Awwwwww!” Pinkie moaned, “But I wanted to have a picnic!”
“Um, Pinkie, I’d be glad to have a picnic with you,” Fluttershy said softly, “but can we do it in the Whitetail Woods? As much as I love manticores and hydras, I’d rather not have to worry about them interrupting cupcakes and tea. If you don’t mind, of course…” She hid her face behind her mane as she trailed off.
Pinkie lit up and grinned, “Now you’re talkin’! Gimme a few minutes to put together the most scrum-diddly-umptious forest feast you ever set your baby blues on!” With that, she zipped into the kitchen in the back of Sugarcube Corner and a series of crashes, bangs, and one or two panicked chicken squawks emanated from the doors into which she’d disappeared.
Fluttershy sighed and smiled a little, “Well, I suppose the animals can wait a little longer for their appointments. Only Pinkie would have been depressed all day long if she didn’t get to go on a picnic. Once she sets her mind on something, she really goes all-in.”
Applejack rolled her eyes and nodded. “On that note,” she said, adjusting her hat, “I’m afraid I gotta git goin’ too. Be safe!” She looked pointedly at Jeremy, Twilight and Rainbow Dash, then shook her head and walked out of the bakery.
Rarity also stood up and preened a little more as she said, “I, too, must away ere I become entirely submerged in a vast sea of backwork! I simply cannot deprive the fashion conscious ponies of Ponyville of my artistry any longer!” And she sashayed out of the bakery with a coy little toss of her head and a fluttering of long eyelashes.
“Okay then,” Jeremy said, “let’s get going then!” Rainbow grinned and shot out of the bakery, slamming the doors open in her haste. Twilight grimaced and nodded, following Jeremy as he left. Sophia watched the entire proceeds with a bemused expression, then simply walked through the closed door of the bakery and up to Jeremy’s side.
~*.*~
Twilight’s horn glowed with the purplish hue of her personal thaumaturgic field as she concentrated her considerable magical ability into a wide-area detection spell. She grimaced as the spell brought her a flood of information. “There’s too much interference!” She complained, “It’s like the whole forest is alive! I can barely make out the different auras that have been through here in the last twenty minutes, never mind the last day!”
Jeremy peered through a break in the foliage at the small clearing that he’d created for his campsite. Sophia had led them back to the camp unerringly and Rainbow’s scouting had allowed them to skirt a number of dangerous monsters. The prismatic pegasus was now resting on a tree limb. She yawned hugely and rolled over onto her back, kicking at a few leaves. “C’mon!” She whined, “Let’s get moving! We’ve been standing here for ten minutes and nothing’s happening!”
Sophia answered her, “While your reconnaissance has been extremely helpful--if not entirely redundant as my own sensors are attuned well enough to detect heat signatures within three hundred meters--you are ruining the stealth we have endeavored to maintain in our trek through this terrain. Please restrain yourself.”
Dash blew a raspberry at the computer construct but sullenly shut her mouth. Jeremy continued staring at the little clearing intently. Finally he said, “I don’t think anyone’s been here. The foliage around doesn’t seem to be disturbed and I don’t see any footprints or anything like that.”
The clearing was around twenty meters across. The ground was cleared of all forest debris and appeared to have been raked flat. In the center of the clearing was a truly enormous tree. Twilight wasn’t sure what kind of tree it was, but it wasn’t any she’d ever seen before. It could have even been completely unique for all she knew. Its trunk was at least fifteen meters in diameter and its towering height spread its canopy for hundreds of meters around. She had never been so deep into the Everfree Forest as she was now. They had completely avoided the ruins of the Princesses’ ancient castle in their trek and had penetrated deep into the heart of the forest. It had helped that Twilight had been able to teleport the group long distances along lines of sight; otherwise, the three hour journey could have taken days.
Jeremy stood up from the cover of foliage and took a few tentative steps into the clearing. Nothing jumped out at him and he didn’t see any bodies, so he relaxed a little and approached the massive tree. “Come on out, guys,” he called over his shoulder, “I don’t think anything’s been by here.”
“I have empirical evidence that proves otherwise…” Twilight muttered to herself, but the dizzying array of auras was so complex as to be incomprehensible. “The sooner we’re out here,” she said to Rainbow, “the better. This forest gives me the creeps.”
Rainbow Dash nodded a little uncomfortably and leapt down out of the tree branch, coming to a gliding landing next to Jeremy. Sophia simply materialized next to Jeremy and walked silently next to him. Jeremy walked right up to the tree trunk and passed his hand in front of a certain spot. A small click sounded in the clearing and a two meter tall rectangular section of the tree trunk swung open. Twilight’s eyebrows climbed in surprise as she watched Jeremy and Sophia enter the apparently hollowed tree. She glanced over at Rainbow and followed with more than a little trepidation. What do we even really know about Jeremy? she thought nervously, He could be some kind of monster… And here we are, casually walking into his den in the middle of nowhere, miles away from our friends and anypony who could help us. She shook her head. No! Stop being so paranoid. He’s secretive, but I can’t believe that he’s malicious.
When Twilight entered the tree, she gaped. She was no stranger to living within massive trees, living in one herself, but she had never seen a space quite like Jeremy’s ‘camp’. There was a massive central chamber with a variety of what appeared to be hand-crafted wooden furniture arrayed around a work area. The center of the chamber was dominated by three long wooden desks polished to a warm gleam. They were scattered with papers, plants, a few bones, and a profusion of metal tools. The walls were recessed and contained shelves, much like Golden Oaks Library. Unlike the library, however, the books lining these shelves were all uniform. They were slim reddish brown volumes with no title on the spines.
Rainbow Dash was standing next to her, the look of comical astonishment on her face mirroring her own. “How long have you been here?” she heard herself ask.
Jeremy plopped down in an overstuffed easy chair and sighed, tugging off his boots and rubbing his feet. “Here?” He glanced around, “About sixty years. Give or take a year or two. Time is a little wonky around here. On this planet? Well, for most of about three hundred years.”
“But… you…” Twilight stammered. The concept was too much for her.
“Yeah, I never really mentioned how long I’d been here. I know. But it’s been a while since I’ve had contact with anyone besides Sophia here. See, when I arrived on this planet, I was on a completely different continent from this one. It was a wild place. And it was totally deserted. You and your friends are the first intelligent beings I’ve seen on this planet.”
The room twirled around Twilight dizzyingly. She closed her eyes, but the spinning only intensified. Distantly, she heard herself say, “I think I... need to lay… dow--” She never finished her sentence as she fainted dead away.
“Well shit,” Jeremy said, “I guess I should have expected that.”
~*.*~
Twilight awoke to find herself stretched out on a soft bed that was entirely too big for her. Soft light from a candle cast the room in deep shadow which hid the details from her. She could make out a tall piece of furniture--maybe a dresser or wardrobe--on the other side of the room and the candle rested on a small bedside table. Her first thought was not Where am I or even How did I get here? but rather What time is it?
She didn’t feel weak, so she stood up slowly. Her legs felt fine and her head was clear. She hopped down out of the bed and found the door to the room closed. She opened the door and immediately heard Jeremy’s and Rainbow Dash’s voices, though she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She walked out of the room and found herself at the top of a small landing which led to a set of stairs which led down. The landing she was standing on was a little balcony and she found that she was looking down into the central chamber of Jeremy’s tree house. The talking noises sounded like they were coming from directly below her. She walked down the stairs carefully, mindful of her recent unconsciousness.
As she walked, thoughts spun through her head. The mere presence of this place and Jeremy’s surprising revelation--no, surprising was too mild a word. Shocking? Apocalyptic? Soul-searingly depressing? Perhaps that last was a bit dramatic, but the way she felt right now… She shuddered as the implications of Jeremy’s simple statement rippled through her conscience. The only intelligent beings on the planet… The thought was really too big. She shoved it into a corner of her mind to deal with later. Instead, she examined the treehouse.
It was impressive what Jeremy had been able to accomplish here. Incredible really. She let her magical senses probe the wood around her. With such a general, unfocused pulse of magic, she wouldn’t get much useful information, but the pulse was designed to simply give her a feel for the place. The house felt like… not a home really. More like a workshop. Much like Applejack’s storage shed. It was more than that though. Like a...laboratory. Yes, that felt right. There was more work and study here than love, but there was passionate effort and a certain academic attachment. Like a cozy chair in the library. She reached the bottom of the stairs and Dash and Jeremy’s voices were louder, though no clearer.
Twilight followed the sound of their voices and found a doorway leading to a small kitchen with a table and… some kind of tall, individual bench. Like a stool, but with a back. Jeremy was sitting in one and he looked comfortable. Dash was perched on a counter. “...and so then,” Jeremy said, his hands gesturing, “I pushed the ancient stone door open and a score of decrepit arrows shot me! Of course, the metal tips had long-since rusted away, but it still hurt. Ah!” He turned his head at the sound of Twilight’s hooves on the wooden floor, “Sleeping Beauty awakes! Are you feeling any better?”
Twilight nodded and walked over to the table. There was a mug set at an empty spot and the aroma of some kind of tea she was unfamiliar with wafted up from it. Jeremy gestured to it and she lifted the mug telekinetically and brought it closer to her nose, taking a longer sniff. It smelled faintly of pine needles and honey with a hint of lavender and… something bitter. Willow bark? She took a tentative sip. It tasted like over sweetened stump water. With a powerful infusion of menthol. She set the mug back on the table, keeping masterful control of her facial expression as she did so, diplomatically resisting the urge to dash outside and drag her tongue through a patch of stinging nettles to get the taste out of her mouth.
Jeremy grimaced and sighed, “Sorry about the tea. Honestly, I have no idea what leaves work and what don’t for tea. I just asked Sophia to point out some plants that wouldn’t poison you. I figured if I sweetened it with enough honey…”
Twilight smiled weakly, and rasped, “May I have a glass of water?”
“That bad huh?” he took the mug and dumped it in a basin. He took a pitcher from the counter and poured a glass of some reddish liquid, presenting it to twilight. “Sorry, I don’t have any water. I never could stand the taste of water, so I took to making my own concoctions. This here is a blackberry mead that I’m rather proud of. Unfortunately, it’s either this or… well, I won’t call it tea.”
Twilight had no idea what mead was, but it smelled much better than the ‘tea’, so she gripped it with her magic and eagerly took a huge swallow. The drink was sweet with a curious bite to the aftertaste. Not at all unpleasant, but it reminded her of fruit juice that was on the verge of spoiling. “Woah there champ!” Jeremy said, “This stuff is actually pretty strong. I don’t want to carry you all the way back to Ponyville!”
Twilight cocked an eyebrow at him. The drink was all right, but it didn’t have the medicinal taste of Fluttershy’s herbal remedies. In fact, it reminded her a little of Applejack’s hard cider… “Oh no!” she gasped, “Is this alcoholic?!”
“Well, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, smiling, a mug gripped in her forehooves. “And it’s not too bad either. Tell ya what Jeremy, you might just give Applejack a run for her bits if you decide to sell this stuff in town! Cider’s great and all, but it can get a little tiring after a while.”
Twilight groaned and set the mug carefully down, “I can’t get drunk right now! There’s too much to do! I mean, we have to be back in Ponyville tonight and I’ll need to teleport us all! Do you have any idea how much focus that takes?!”
“You worry too much, Twi’,” Rainbow drawled, “relax a little!” She tried to recline back on the counter, but her elbow slipped and she tumbled off, the mug she’d been carrying shattering on the wood floor. “‘S okay!” she called, “I’m fine! Just a little accident!” She wasn’t slurring her words--yet--but she was definitely choosing them carefully.
“Sorry about that, Twilight. Living on my own for so long… Well, the nanomachines in my system can neutralize the effects of alcohol when I want them to, so I don’t even think about it any more. If you want, I can lead you to a nearby stream and get some water there.”
Twilight shook her head, “No, I don’t think we really have the time. It’s going to take days to move all this to Ponyville as it is. You made it sound like you had only arrived at Equestria yesterday!”
Jeremy shrugged uncomfortably. “It wasn’t intentional. It’s been, well, three hundred years since I’ve had someone to talk to besides my AI construct. And while she is an endlessly entertaining conversationalist, it was a new experience to be confronted by thinking, speaking beings again.”
Twilight was silent for a long moment. She’d been avoiding this topic since she had awakened in the bedroom, but she felt it was time for her to broach it. “Jeremy...you said you’ve lived here for three hundred years. And up until yesterday, you had never seen a single intelligent...creature. The other continent--or continents--you visited… There was nopony?”
“I’m sorry Twilight,” Jeremy said softly, “no. Until yesterday, I’d been pretty much holed up in my treehouse here doing my research and exploring the forest. The tree cover here is so thick, I’d never even seen the smoke rising from the rooftops of Ponyville until yesterday. I had thought I was completely alone.”
Rainbow Dash got to her hooves and walked carefully over to Twilight and nuzzled her. It was obvious the news had affected her as well as her devil-may-care expression had softened and her countenance was unusually somber. “I know it’s hard to take in, Twi’,” she said, her sandy voice gentle, “I’m having a hard time with it too.”
Twilight took comfort from her friend, nuzzling her back, then lifted her head and spoke to Jeremy, “This is what you were going to tell the Princesses, isn’t it?”
“Partly,” Jeremy answered, “but there’s more. A lot more. Again, I’m not going to tell you now because it’s really for your princesses to decide how to use the information I have.”
Twilight nodded, but a worm of doubt had dug its way into her heart. What isn’t he telling us? Why would he only tell the Princesses? It doesn’t add up. Still, it was obvious that he was not going to open up to her on his own. She would have to wait it out. It did leave one problem though. “Jeremy,” she said, “this home of yours… It’s completely filled with your things. Books, treasures, furniture… Why would you want to move to Ponyville?”
Jeremy glanced around at his kitchen and a faraway look passed over him. Suddenly, he did not appear quite so young or innocent to Twilight. That one glance had shown her a glimpse into a deep and private loneliness that she couldn’t fully comprehend. “This… is just… stuff. You have no idea how lonely I’ve been, Twilight. There are years that have gone by, Twilight, that I don’t remember. They’re completely gone from my recollection. I’ve been through madness so many times now that I’ve lost count. I’ve lived five lifetimes, by the average of my species. I’ve lived them on an alien planet that--up to now-- I had believed was completely devoid of intelligent life.” He turned that hollow look to her. “I would trade every scrap of paper, every stick of furniture, every year of my lonely sojourn here to have spent that time surrounded by creatures like you. And now I have that opportunity--I will not be stopped by stuff.” His eyes bored into Twilight and she got a glimpse of the madness he had suffered. It scared her with its breadth.
“Jeremy slept ten years straight,” Sophia said, suddenly appearing next to Twilight. “It was thirty years after we had arrived on this planet. We had been exploring yet another dead and empty city and he just stopped one day, curled up in an empty building, and went to sleep. Nothing I did would awaken him.” The construct shuddered with the memory. “I nearly went mad myself.”
Twilight let the silence stretch for a long time, trying to understand the vast loneliness Jeremy had experiences. After a time, she gave up. Another thing that was simply too much. “In that case,” she said, her tone lighter, “let’s take a few things and get out of here. You don’t want to miss Applejack’s family dinner!”
The haunted look disappeared from Jeremy’s eyes and he smiled at her gratefully. Rainbow Dash stretched her back and flared her wings, “Yeah! Forget all that noise and let’s get the hay outta here!”
“All right,” Jeremy said. “Lemme just grab my tools and we can get on our way.”
He left the kitchen and disappeared into the other room. Twilight stood with Rainbow Dash and they shared a concerned look after he had left. Rainbow opened her mouth, but closed it a second later, shaking her head. Twilight nuzzled her quickly and they both followed Jeremy out into the main chamber.
Jeremy was just rolling up a tool belt in a cloth bundle and tying it off. He placed the bundle in a pack that looked like a curious kind of saddlebag. He then proceeded to pack a truly impressive amount of things into the bag. In fact, the amount of items Jeremy was packing into the bag was obviously much more than it could possibly hold. “Uh…” said Rainbow Dash, “how are you doing that?”
Jeremy looked up from a stack of books and grinned, “It’s technical. One of our little toys.” He laughed to himself, though neither pony could figure out why. “This is a Traveler’s Pack,” he explained, “It’s part of the Traveler’s Kit. It has a sort of stable wormhole to a pocket of space enclosed in the opening of the bag. I call it my Bag of Holding.” He carefully lowered the stack of books--at least twenty of the thin volumes--into the back, where they disappeared completely.
“So all that stuff you said,” Rainbow Dash said drily, “about leaving all this stuff behind… Was all horseapples.”
Jeremy’s smile slipped a little, “No. I meant it. But there are things here that I really can’t leave behind. Not if I’m going to speak with your princesses. The notes I’ve taken, the research I’ve done… The conclusions I’ve made. It’s all been taken down in these books. I’ll need them to convince the princesses of the merit of my findings.”
Twilight’s academic sensibilities were screaming at her to read the books. Just a peak! she thought, To see his findings… It’s an incredible opportunity! Jeremy looked at her then, right in her eyes, and smiled enigmatically. “They’re written in code. Sorry Twilight, but I guess some of that caution I began harboring back on Nexus grew into full-blown paranoia.”
“Well,” Rainbow said, flapping her wings impatiently, “is there anything we can do to help?”
Jeremy shook his head. “No. I’m just about done. I don’t need the whole library, just a few of the more important volumes. And some clothes. Then we’ll get going.”
True to his word, ten minutes later, Jeremy had closed the pack, his Bag of Holding, and hoisted it up to his back. “All set,” he said, “let’s get out of here.”
They exited Jeremy’s treehouse and Jeremy closed the concealed doorway behind them. He made a pass with his hand at the door and it seemed to melt into the tree bark, once more completely hidden. Twilight cocked an eyebrow at the gesture. She had felt a tiny whisper of thaumaturgic power with his gesture. “You learned magic?” She asked, curious.
“A little. I’m horrible at it, or so Sophia tells me.” The construct appeared next to him, nodding sagely.
“It is true. Jeremy’s aptitude for the esoteric arts is abysmal. He doesn’t have the imagination or fortitude of will to be even a passable practitioner.” She smiled fondly up at him. “He is, however, a passable researcher and historian. His skill with languages is of particular note.”
“Tam, lo'laHbe' De'wI'!” Jeremy rasped. Sophia chuckled and rasped something back at him.
Twilight stared at them, nonplussed. “Right. Well come on, it’s almost midday. We’re barely going to make it to Ponyville before sunset at this rate and I do not want to be in the Everfree after dark.”
Jeremy nodded and the three of them set out.
~*.*~
Two hours later, they took a rest at the edge of a weed-choked pond. The deep-throated croak of bullfrogs echoed around them and dragonflies and gnats buzzed through the humid air, lulling them all into rather introspective silence. Except for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was stretched out on the ground, sunning her wings and snoring gently. “How does she do that?” Jeremy asked.
“Hm?” Twilight said, shaken out of her private reverie.
“Fall asleep like that. Like, instantly.”
Twilight smiled fondly at her friend sprawled out on the ground. “It’s a talent of hers. It drives Applejack crazy.”
“What--” Jeremy’s question was drowned out by an extremely loud croak coming from somewhere across the pond.
Twilight’s eyes went wide and she kicked at Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus was already awake, though, looking around wildly. “What was that?” Rainbow asked, an edge of fear tinging her raspy voice.
“Don’t you know?” Jeremy asked tensely.
“I’ve never been this deep in the Everfree before!” Twilight said, panic struggling to take over. She fought it down with an effort of will. “Come on, we need to get out of he--”
The rest of her words were drowned out by another loud croaking. “Let’s go!” Jeremy shouted. Rainbow Dash leapt into the air, flapping her wings when a curious wet snapping sound echoed over the water and her ascent was arrested by a thick greyish pink slimy rope-like thing wrapping around her middle. One of her wings made an audible popping noise and she screamed.
“Rainbow!” Twilight yelled. But the pegasus was being hauled into the water by the rope. Rainbow was cursing in a breathless kind of pained whisper, digging her hooves into the mud at the edge of the pond, but whatever was pulling her was stronger than her and she was fighting a losing battle.
Twilight called up her magic and enveloped her friend in her telekinetic field, hauling with all of her eldritch might against whatever was pulling her. Rainbow was now half-in and half-out of the water, but at least she’d stopped being dragged. But Twilight couldn’t pull her up onto the shore. It was taking all of her skill to maintain the stalemate. Jeremy dropped his bag on the ground and opened it. He pulled something small and metallic out and ran into the water, gripping the thing that had wrapped around Rainbow Dash.
He pressed a button on the side of the metallic device in his hand and a blade popped out of one end. He sawed at the thing around Rainbow with the sharp knife and wasn’t surprised to see a black welling of blood spurt up from the wound he’d inflicted. The blade was wickedly sharp and in less than a second, he’d sawed through it completely and Rainbow Dash was free. A furious and pained croaking echoed out over the water and the rope jerked in Jeremy’s hand back across the water. Though he tried to let the rope go, his hand was stuck fast to it, the slime adhering to his hand stronger than super glue.
The tug on Jeremy’s arm was immense. He couldn’t have resisted it even if he’d been braced for it, but as it was, he was on slippery footing in the shallows of the pond and utterly unprepared for the reaction. He was dragged into the water and across the pond at breakneck speed, hearing Twilight’s panicked yell behind him. The force of the pull felt like it had dislocated his shoulder and he fought against the crippling pain as stars swam in his vision.
In seconds, Jeremy had been yanked across the width of the pond and into a thick, tall patch of reeds. Squatting in the center of the patch was an enormous and bloated frog that hunched at least six feet tall. Its mottled greenish brown skin had afforded it excellent camouflage in the reeds, but its pained thrashing and thunderous croaks made the camouflage moot. Its cavernous mouth was open and its slitted yellow eyes were maddened with pain. Jeremy was yanked into the mouth of the creature as its enormous jaws clamped down on his midsection like a bear trap. He screamed as he felt the thousands of small but razor sharp teeth in the frogs jaw pierce his belly and back, snapping bone and sawing through muscle with lethal ease. He felt a weight fall off his back and knew that he’d just been cut in half by the creature’s bite. Still screaming, he plunged his little knife into the frog’s mouth over and over until blood loss and pain rendered him unconscious.
~*.*~